FIA busts gang trafficking Pakistani women to China

Suspects were arrested while attempting to take victim to China under pretense of marriage, employment opportunities.

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Authorities at Islamabad airport have arrested three suspects involved in a human trafficking network that lured Pakistani women into forced marriages and smuggled them to China, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said.

According to FIA sources, the suspects were identified as Shougui (Yousuf), Abdul Rehman, and Muhammad Nauman. A young woman who was being trafficked was also taken into protective custody, Express News reported.

The suspects were intercepted while attempting to take the victim to China on flight CZ6034, under the pretense of marriage and employment opportunities. Initial investigations revealed that the network facilitated marriages between Pakistani women and Chinese nationals as part of a trafficking operation.

The gang, which includes several women, targeted impoverished and vulnerable women, coercing them into marriage. Investigators found that the suspects arranged travel documents and logistics for the victims.

Key agents, Abdul Rehman and Muhammad Nauman, maintained contact with a Chinese associate named Paul, who arranged "clients" in exchange for large sums of money.

Authorities also discovered that the suspects had struck a deal with the victim’s mother for PKR 1 million, of which PKR 150,000 had already been paid. Additionally, they had coerced the victim into signing a PKR 1 million loan bond for blackmail purposes.

The three suspects have been transferred to Islamabad’s Anti-Human Trafficking Cell for further investigation, while efforts are underway to apprehend other members of the trafficking network.